Helplessness

I hate feeling helpless.  I assume I am not the only one.  I think most people hate that feeling.  Of course, we all make this problem worse by outsourcing so many of our daily needs.  I think ultimately giving our power away to other people can contribute to feelings of helplessness if we let that outsourcing go unchecked.  Some of this outsourcing is justified by the “convenience.”   Most people don’t cook because it’s easier to order in.   Sure it can be much easier and often more fun to order in and easy to justify the increased cost because of the time saved: time being a more precious commodity than money.  However, the real costs are often hidden.  We rarely get the healthiest foods when we outsource to third-parties so we pay for that food (partially) with our health.

Along with the poor health comes the feeling of being helpless to stop the problem.  Many people complain that “it’s too hard to eat healthy.”  It’s not too hard, unless you don’t know your way around the kitchen.

Another common problem is that people rely on experts to take care of all basic needs.  I know as a person that grew up in New York City, that when I take my car into the mechanic, I am totally at their mercy because I don’t know anything about cars.  My car maintenance skill set includes: filling it up with gas, checking the oil, changing a flat tire, replacing wiper blades and fluid, and changing lightbulbs.  Beyond that I am helpless and at the mercy of the mechanic.

When it comes to human body maintenance, most people have an extremely limited skill set: they can fuel it, clean it and drive it really fast and hard.  When it comes to the human body, I consider myself an expert driving instructor as well as an expert mechanic.  I refuse to feel helpless when it comes to the place I spend all my time.  Not only do I want to teach people how to drive their bodies better, I want to teach them how to perform the basic maintenance on their bodies so they don’t have to rely on experts.

Coach Greg Glassman is fond of saying,  “I’ve got an analogy for you. Physicians are lifeguards. Trainers are swim coaches. When you need a lifeguard, you need a lifeguard, not a swim coach. But, if you need a lifeguard, you probably needed a swim coach and didn’t get one.”  My goal is to be that swim coach for people.

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